Not Her Father
by Kara1626
Summary: The first time Ziva disobeyed him, Gibbs let her off with a warning. But when she did it again, he had to decide if it was really a good idea to make good on his threat. WARNING: Contains spanking of an adult and abuse of a minor.


**WARNING: Contains spanking of an adult and abuse of a minor.**

**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just borrow them.**

* * *

"I'm pretty sure you just earned yourself a spanking, Ziva David," Tony said as he watched Gibbs go upstairs.

"What?!" Ziva asked. He could see uncharacteristic panic on her face before she recovered quickly.

"It's not really a big deal. Didn't your father ever spank you?" he asked.

"Once."

* * * * *

_"Papa, I just want to be like other kids," she whined as only an 8-year-old can. "I want to go to Lia's birthday party. This is stupid!"_

_"You want to be like other kids?" he asked. She nodded. "Fine. I will let you be like other kids." He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the room she shared with Tali. He unfastened her pants and pulled them down along with her underpants. "Get on the bed," he ordered._

_She looked at him in horror. "Papa, no!" she yelled. He picked her up and laid her across the foot of the bed._

_"This is what happens to other kids when they are rebellious. This is what happens to other kids when they disrespect their fathers," he explained angrily as he pulled off his belt and folded it in half. _

_"No Papa, please don't," she begged._

_"This is what you wanted," he said and brought the belt down on her bottom._

_After a long, hard whipping, he put his belt back on. All he said before he left the room was "You are not other kids. You are MY daughter and you will respect me." Then he left her alone, crying miserably on the bed. The welts lasted for two days and the bruises even longer._

* * * * *

Gibbs was waiting for her when she got to the conference room, seated at the head of the table. In front of him, she saw an accordion file. She hesitantly closed the door, but stood just inside the room.

He looked at her for a moment, trying to read the look on her face. There was fear, which was only natural, her normal bravado just under the surface, which he expected, but there was something else he couldn't place. He nodded toward the chair next to him and waited as she made her way toward him and took a seat.

"You are not going to spank me?" she asked. He could see that she was trying to be brave.

"You've been talking to DiNozzo, I see," he said with a small grin. "We're gonna talk first."

"Talk. About what?"

He reflected briefly that no one else on his team would ever dare to use that tone of voice when in this situation. But he'd already figured out that what appeared on the surface as cheek in her was simply her training.

"You disobeyed a direct order," he said after a moment.

"And for that, you are going to spank me," she said incredulously.

"It's either that, or you pack your bags and take the next transport back to Tel Aviv." It wasn't a threat.

She considered that for a moment. She did not want the whipping she was sure he would give her. On the other hand, she really did not want to go back to Israel. She weighed the options in her mind for a long time.

"Do you trust me?" Gibbs asked quietly after a while.

This time she was studying him. His eyes were sad, but kind. They held none of the hardness her own father's eyes held. She knew that on some level, her father loved her. But he had never made her feel safe the way Gibbs did. She thought back to the last few weeks since she'd come to the States and ended up on his team – the talk they'd had in the elevator her first day, the first time he'd slapped the back of her head, the first time he'd threatened her with punishment when she'd taken initiative and ended up disobeying him. And she thought back to the tender touch of his hand on hers just moments after she had saved his life – and taken her brother's. She nodded slowly.

"Then stand up," he ordered, just as quietly. She moved in slow motion, but obeyed, never breaking eye contact with him. He stood up and pulled the paddle out of the folder. "Bend over."

She looked confused. "You are not going to use your belt?"

"No."

"But when my fath…" she stopped herself and looked away. It was the first sign of weakness she'd shown all day.

Gibbs moved next to her. "I am not your father," he said, his mouth just centimeters from her ear. "Bend over." Still moving slowly, she put her hands on the table and leaned forward. He put his hand on her back and he felt her tense up momentarily before she relaxed. He pushed her gently down until she rested on her elbows. When she was in position, he spoke again. "It's ok to be weak sometimes Ziva. It's ok to cry." He paused to allow her a moment to think about that. He knew it went against everything she had been taught. Then he spanked her. It wasn't particularly hard, and the paddle only landed twenty times, but he knew it hurt enough to deliver the message he intended it to send. And he knew that more than the physical pain, below the surface, it hurt emotionally.

He ended the spanking, but did not take his hand off her back right away. "I know you were trying to help, but it is never ok to disobey me." He finally let her up. "Are you ok?" he asked gently. She nodded, but he saw tears in her eyes. "What is it?" She shook her head. "Ziva…"

"May I go now?" she asked, recovering quickly.

He nodded and she quickly left the room. He sat down again and put his head in his hands wondering if he'd made the wrong decision.

* * * * *

"Ok, let's call it a night," Gibbs said, much to the surprise of his team. It was only 7:30. Tim and Tony exchanged a glance then quickly grabbed their bags and took off for the elevator. Ziva, on the other hand, sat at her desk, staring at the same piece of paper Gibbs had watched her stare at for the last half an hour.

He stood up and walked over to her desk. He leaned on it next to her. "What's on your mind?"

She looked up at him, clearly unsure of herself. "I do not understand," she said.

"What don't you understand?" She looked away suddenly. He sighed. "I shouldn't have spanked you, Ziva."

"What?" she asked, meeting his eyes again. "No. It is not that," she said after a moment.

"Then what?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Did you ever spank your daughter?" she asked looking up at him. He nodded. "But you cared about her."

"Yes," he said, not sure where she was going. She looked away. "I am not your father," he said, reminding her of what he'd said earlier. "I did it because I care about you as a person. And I did it because you have already proved to be a valuable member of this team and I don't want to lose you."

"It was not to punish me?"

He grinned. "Of course it was punishment. But that's over now."

"Over?" she asked in a whisper.

He put his hand gently on top of hers and smiled, "It's all over." She nodded slowly. "Come on," he said standing up. "It's time to go home."

She returned his shy smile as she stood up and picked up her bag. As they walked to the elevator, she looked up at him. "You are right. You are nothing like my father."

"No?"

She stared straight ahead for a moment. "No. He did not punish me because he cared about me. He did it so that I would be strong."

Gibbs nodded, but said nothing. His mind was suddenly elsewhere, filled with a memory he'd only recently allowed to surface.

_Kelly was curled up in his lap. She was crying and snuggling into his chest as he held her. _

_"It's all over, Baby. Shhh, it's done," he said quietly._

_"I'm so sorry, Daddy," she said through her tears._

_"I know," he said, kissing her on the head. "And I know you'll never disappear like that again." She shook her head and snuggled in closer._

* * * * *

"So?" Tony asked the next morning. "Did you survive?"

Ziva rolled her eyes. "I am fine, Tony."

"See?" he said, smiling at her. "I told you it was no big deal."

"DiNozzo! I thought I told you to get that stuff down to Abby! Or do you need a reminder about obedience too?"

"Nope, I'm good Boss!"


End file.
